Authorities said that a landslide that tore over a highway in southern Brazil, taking 20 automobiles and trucks with it, left at least two people dead and dozens more missing.
After many days of severe rain in the state of Parana, a river of mud rushed down a steep mountain and struck highway BR 367, according to officials.
“It’s difficult to estimate the precise number of victims. One to five persons could ride in a car. An estimated 30 to 50 people are still missing, “Manoel Vasco, the local emergency response chief, stated at a news conference.
Emergency services provided aerial photographs of a gigantic mudslide that destroyed everything in its path, including a section of roadway and the cars on it.
Rescue personnel claimed that the search attempt was made more difficult by the poor weather and distant location.
In an effort to find survivors, they are employing drones equipped with heat-detecting cameras.
In a statement released later on Wednesday, the Parana state security authority noted that 54 firefighters had been working nonstop for more than 35 hours and expressed alarm about potential future landslides.
Six survivors, including the mayor of the nearby seaside town of Guaratuba, have been found; two bodies have so far been found.
“It was awful. We were just buried under the mountain. Every car was carried away. We are only alive because of God’s grace “Roberto Justus, the mayor, was quoted in a video uploaded to social media.
Deadly landslides frequently occur in Brazil.
Multiple states have received heavy rain warnings from the national weather service INMET.
In the northeastern state of Segipe, a portion of road washed out on Wednesday, taking the victim’s car away and resulting in at least one other death, according to Brazilian media.
In February, several landslides in Petropolis, a charming tourist destination in the southeast, claimed the lives of more than 200 people.
